Wall Street Zen Downgrades Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) to Hold

Key Points

• Investment analysts at Wall Street Zen downgraded Eagle Bancorp Montana from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating.
• The bank reported earnings of $0.41 EPS for the last quarter, matching analysts' expectations and generating revenue of $23.51 million, exceeding expectations.
• Hedge funds significantly increased their positions in Eagle Bancorp Montana, with Jones Financial Companies increasing its stake by 355.3% in the first quarter.

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Stock Performance

EBMT stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $15.91. The company had a trading volume of 11,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 44,942. The company has a market cap of $126.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 0.39. Eagle Bancorp Montana has a twelve month low of $12.61 and a twelve month high of $18.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.69.

Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The bank reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.41. The business had revenue of $23.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.34 million. Eagle Bancorp Montana had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 7.14%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eagle Bancorp Montana will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.145 per share. This is a boost from Eagle Bancorp Montana's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Eagle Bancorp Montana's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kenneth M. Walsh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.75, for a total transaction of $177,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 116,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,059,585.75. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Bancorp Montana

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EBMT. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana during the 1st quarter worth approximately $599,000. Rhino Investment Partners Inc increased its stake in Eagle Bancorp Montana by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 203,826 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,125,000 after purchasing an additional 32,074 shares during the last quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana in the 2nd quarter valued at $530,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 193.4% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 35,946 shares of the bank's stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 23,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Eagle Bancorp Montana by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 108,715 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,667,000 after buying an additional 20,812 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.66% of the company's stock.

About Eagle Bancorp Montana

Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Opportunity Bank of Montana that provides various retail banking products and services to small businesses and individuals in Montana. It accepts various deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit accounts.